The officer knocked once.
Then again.
Clara opened the door.
“Mrs. Hale?”
“Yes.”
“I need to speak with Daniel Hale.”
Clara's stomach tightened.
“On what grounds?”
The officer showed her the warrant.
Daniel appeared behind her.
“What is this?”
The officer looked at him.
“Sir, you're being investigated in connection with financial fraud.”
Ethan came downstairs.
Clara immediately stepped back.
“Ethan, go to your room.”
“But—”
“Now.”
He hesitated.
Then he obeyed.
Victor stood outside.
Marcus remained beside him.
Clara looked at both men.
“You planned this.”
Victor shook his head.
“I did not.”
Marcus said nothing.
The officer entered.
Two other officers followed.
They moved toward the study.
Daniel looked terrified.
Clara stepped in front of the door.
“What are you looking for?”
“The warrant specifies financial records, electronic devices, and documents related to certain transactions.”
“Which transactions?”
The officer read from the page.
Several account numbers matched those in the ledger.
Clara looked at Daniel.
“Those are your accounts.”
He nodded.
The officer moved past her.
Clara let him.
She knew the copy could be taken.
The original letter could not.
She had hidden it inside her sweater.
The officer opened the desk drawer.
He found the notebook.
“Is this yours?”
Daniel answered.
“Yes.”
The officer placed it into an evidence bag.
Victor watched.
Clara noticed Marcus watching Victor.
That mattered.
Marcus looked uneasy.
The police continued searching.
One officer entered the spare room.
Clara followed.
He opened the wall compartment.
Empty.
He turned.
“Was something stored here?”
Clara shook her head.
“No.”
Victor's expression changed.
Marcus noticed.
Clara saw both reactions.
The original ledger was somewhere else.
The officer returned to the study.
A few minutes later, one of them found Daniel's computer.
Daniel's face went white.
“That's personal.”
The officer bagged it.
Victor stepped forward.
“Officer, there may be documents involving my company.”
The officer turned.
“You'll be contacted if necessary.”
Victor stepped back.
Clara watched him.
For the first time, he looked uncertain.
When the officers finished, they escorted Daniel outside.
Ethan stood at the top of the stairs.
“Mom?”
Clara looked at him.
“Stay there.”
Daniel turned toward her before leaving.
“Clara.”
She walked to him.
“What?”
“If you have that letter—”
He stopped.
She stared at him.
“How did you know?”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Because your brother told me.”
Clara felt the last piece fall into place.
“You knew he left something for me.”
“Yes.”
“You knew where.”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me.”
“I was afraid.”
“Of Victor?”
Daniel looked at her.
“Yes.”
The police officer called his name.
Daniel was taken outside.
The door closed.
Clara stood beside Ethan.
Neither spoke.
Then Ethan asked, “Is Dad going to jail?”
“I don't know.”
“Did he do all those things?”
Clara looked at him.
“I know he made serious choices.”
Ethan nodded.
He seemed older than he had that morning.
“What are we going to do?”
Clara looked toward the study.
“We find the original ledger.”
“Where?”
She touched the letter inside her sweater.
“I think your uncle knew.”
They went into the kitchen.
Clara spread the letter across the table.
Ethan read it.
“There are numbers here.”
Clara looked.
At the bottom of the page were four groups of digits.
A date.
A time.
And coordinates.
Ethan frowned.
“Those are not bank numbers.”
“No.”
Clara recognized the location.
It was an old storage facility outside town.
Her brother-in-law had rented a unit there years earlier.
Ethan looked at her.
“Should we go?”
Clara hesitated.
The house was quiet again.
Too quiet.
Then her phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
A message appeared.
Do not take the ledger to the police.
Clara stared at it.
Another message arrived.
They don't know who is controlling them.
Ethan saw her face.
“Mom?”
Clara showed him.
His eyes widened.
“Who sent it?”
She didn't know.
Then the phone rang.
Marcus.
Clara answered.
“Where are you?”
“Outside.”
She looked through the window.
He stood across the street.
“Why didn't you tell the police everything?”
“Because I don't trust Victor.”
“You brought them here.”
“I needed to make Victor think the evidence was gone.”
Clara narrowed her eyes.
“What evidence?”
“The original ledger.”
“Where is it?”
Marcus paused.
“You have it.”
Clara froze.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“The wall compartment wasn't the only hiding place.”
Clara looked at the letter.
“You knew my brother.”
“Yes.”
“You knew he trusted me.”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I wasn't sure whether you were safe.”
Clara felt anger rise.
“Safe from whom?”
Marcus looked toward the street.
“From everyone.”
The call ended.
Ethan whispered, “What did he mean?”
Clara looked at the letter again.
The coordinates.
The time.
The date.
She understood.
The storage unit was not where the ledger had been hidden.
It was where her brother-in-law had arranged for someone to deliver it.
Tomorrow morning.
At the exact time Victor's property transfer was scheduled.
Clara folded the letter.
“We're going.”
Ethan nodded.
She grabbed her coat.
Before they left, Clara returned to the study.
She looked at the empty desk.
At the chair where Daniel had sat.
At the photographs that had once seemed like harmless memories.
Then she noticed something beneath the desk.
A tiny red light.
A recording device.
Clara picked it up.
The indicator was still blinking.
Ethan stared.
“Was that recording us?”
Clara turned it over.
A label had been written underneath.
Laura.
Clara looked toward the door.
The house had been watched.
Her marriage had been watched.
Perhaps even her return had been expected.
She slipped the device into her pocket.
“Mom?”
Clara looked at Ethan.
“We don't know who we can trust.”
Ethan swallowed.
“Do we trust each other?”
Clara took his hand.
“Yes.”
They stepped outside.
Across the street, Marcus was gone.
So was Victor.
But on the windshield of Clara's car was a folded piece of paper.
She opened it.
One sentence was written inside.
You should have stayed away.
Clara looked at Ethan.
Then she started the engine.
The storage facility was waiting.
And so was whoever had been waiting four months for her to come home.
Click here to continue reading: PART 9: At the Storage Unit, Clara Found the Original Ledger and a Recording That Explained Why Her Brother Had Trusted Her
She Came Home With Groceries, but the Silence Inside Told Clara Something Had Changed While She Was Gone
Part 8 of 12
